The Accuracy of SEASAT 1 Altimeter Altitude Measurements under Various Sea State Conditions.

Abstract

This Report determines the accuracy with which the Seasat 1 altimeter height measurement can be used to derive the spacecraft CG to mean sea level distance. To calculate this accuracy a description of the mean shape of a reflected pulse must be used which incorporates a realistic description of a wavefield's waveheight probability distribution in its derivation. A quantitative description of such a reflected pulse is developed here. This description is then used in a simulation procedure to calculate values of the rms errors in the tracking and wave biases, hence the rms height error. This figure of accuracy, ie rms height error is derived for various sea state conditions. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA121388

Entities

People

  • G. C. White

Organizations

  • Royal Aircraft Establishment

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altimeters
  • Altitude
  • Automatic Gain Control
  • Backscattering
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Databases
  • Diffraction
  • Electromagnetic Scattering
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Measurement
  • Radar
  • Radar Altimeters
  • Scattering
  • Two Dimensional
  • Waveforms
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Marine Hydrodynamics
  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Space